Mugabe 'will decide who goes to heaven' says Zanu-PF youth leader

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe will apparently be at the gates of heaven deciding who gets in and who goes to hell, according to a Zanu-PF youth leader.

Kudzanai Chipanga said: "Many will be shocked on judgement day when they see President Mugabe adjudicating who is supposed to get in or go to hell."

The youth leader said Zanu-PF 'elders' like chiefs and senior party officials deserved respect, but only one man would have the youths' support: Mugabe.

"When it comes to support we only support President Mugabe," said Chipanga, adding that the longtime Zanu-PF leader's victory in 2018 elections was 'a done deal.'

Mugabe will be 94 then.

Chipanga was speaking at what was billed an "interactive youth meeting" held in Marondera, a small town 75km east of Harare. Mugabe and First Lady Grace Mugabe spoke after him.

As Mugabe battles factional battles within his ruling Zanu-PF, he is understood to be counting on support from his party's youth wing. The loyalty of his traditional supporters, the war veterans, appears to be on the wane.

School buses and council trucks were commandeered to bring supporters to the meeting. A local flea market was closed and there were claims street vendors had been forced to attend the rally.

"As long as you're alive Gushungo, you are our life president," said Chipanga, using Mugabe's clan name.

He also said Mugabe was God's "angel Gabriel", a reference to the president's middle name.

Despite the hyperbole, Chipanga did not shy away from hinting at the president's inevitable demise.

"Even if you die, we will hold the (ruling party's) politburo (meetings) at National Heroes Acre," the youth leader said in a quote translated by the official Herald online. Heroes' Acre is the national burial site for independence war icons. Mugabe will almost certainly be buried there when he dies.

Grace Mugabe has previously claimed Mugabe will rule from the grave. She may have her own eyes on the top seat, some analysts say.